GOP Sen. Tillis asks Musk to explain Ukraine losing access to Starlink

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is pressing Elon Musk to explain Ukraine’s loss of military access to Starlink and expressing hope that Ukraine’s restricted access to the space-based communications network was because of an error and not a deliberate decision.

Tillis called on Musk in a social media post to “please tell me these overnight disruptions to Starlink terminals in Ukraine were unintended — that @SpaceX is doing everything it can to fix a temporary glitch.”

Tillis warned that “intentionally degrading Ukraine’s ability to defend itself might be construed as aiding and abetting a mass murder,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Can you confirm that’s not SpaceX’s intent?” he added.

“Supporting Ukrainian sovereignty — or at the very least, allowing for it — should not be a gray area for the U.S. government or for American corporations. Can you clarify the SpaceX position?” Tillis posted on social platform X.

Musk is the founder and CEO of SpaceX, which owns Starlink.

Ukraine said Wednesday that its military lost access to the military version of Starlink, which it uses for vital communications, and some Ukrainian officials speculated the decision to restrict its access may have come from Washington.

Ukrainian defense adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said SpaceX imposed speed limits on Starlink’s internet terminals overnight, according to NBC News.

Former Ukraine Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov said Wednesday afternoon that Starlink connectivity at speeds of up to 160 km per hour was being restored. “Removing Starshield’s speed limit entirely is now critical for Ukraine’s defense,” Fedorov wrote on X, which Musk also owns.

He thanked Musk for the returned speed and wrote “we hope for your continued support.”

Starlink data speeds were limited to prevent Ukraine from using it for drones, airplanes and helicopters and other objects moving faster than 100 mph, according to a source familiar, which hampered its defenses from intercepting Russian-launched drones.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday warned the loss of full access to Starlink would cost Ukrainian lives and blasted the limits on the network as a “big mistake.”

“People will die, of course, if attacks will continue and if Starlink will not work … it’s not helpful,” he said.

Zelensky said he hoped the limits on Ukrainian access to the network were a “mistake” or perhaps a “technical problem” at SpaceX.